My First Show (kinda long)

Dementia

Dementia

Joined
Oct 25, 1999
Messages
184
Hello everyone~
my name is Dion... i have been a lurker amongst you for quite a while, popping up once in a blue moon to say something.
well... the blue moon is up and the time has come to say something once more.

a little over a week ago i attended my very first knife show here in western Australia.
recently i have turned full time amd this would be my launching
first impression: wow.

If ever there was a time my insomnia came in handy it was the month before the knife show, where i spent many many days awake trying to get the finishes .. err .. finished on the few blades that i had left to ...finish.
the last three days before the show i was just submerged into my blades .. filing, polishing, polishing .. and leatherworking.
(i would like to take this moment to thank my wife and all others who withstood my demeanor and didnt throw me out of the house)

but .. some 2 hours before the start of the show i was kinda in some state that a few would call ... ready.
13 high carbon and stainless blades..
2 damascus.
1 large axe
several stands ..
several sheaths..
many many burns, cuts, scraps and blisters.

they were done and i was ready to go .. and despite constant scrubbing ... my fingers would not return to their normal colour.
so with various stained colours on my hands .. i left for the show... confident that this was going to be the best show i could make it .. ever with the small amount of blades that i had for sale.

i arrived late... all the other makers were already setup.
that was bad enough, having to setup while everyone is basically watching you.
i found my table and there i was .. far far away from the makers that i had known .. right between two of the biggest and finest makers of the whole show ..
my little table was dwarfed by the 50+ blades that spanned on either side of me.

afraid? never.
intimidated and scared out of my mind? oh yeah!!

more than once i turned to my wife and told her to help me pack up and that we were leaving .. and if it wasnt for her and the $$ that went on the table itself ... i would have turned tail and ran.
i know ... coward and all that ... but its the truth.

but i stayed ..
tired.. worn out .. and totally sore all over by this time ..
but i managed to crawl into a chair ..and thats where i stayed as the people started to flood in thru the door and immediately head for their favoured makers... leaving my table alone and rather pitiful looking.

but i can not tell you how it felt to have that first person. a gentleman who i will never forget, come over and start to ask questions about my blades and about me and my techniques.
after talking for a long time and handling some blades.. he thanked me .. told me that i was doing great work .. and moved on.
wow... again.
things were looking up.
i could once again feel my body and the pain just lifted.

and it kept happening... people would come and look at my blades and like them .. take my card .. and ask questions about blades that they want made.
the time seemed to fly by...

eventually i became brave enough to start to talk to these two big time makers that were next to me.
thank heaven i did.
the learning curve that occured .. it was beyond drastic.
i leanrt of new suppliers .. new techniues .. new methods and ideas.
i couldnt wait to get back to my forge to try all these things.

and then it happened... on the second day of the show.. a gentleman came over done that looking over thing and asked about a blade and then walked off.
then he came back some 30 mins later.
and picked up a blade and said that he would take it.
one of the most expensive blades on the table... and he just bought it just like that.
and what amazed me was that he had been around the room and seen all the other makers.. passed them up .. and came back to ME.
the youngest and most inexperienced in the room ... had made a sale.
my first show sale.
dont get me wrong .. i have sold blades before .. but this was a show sale.
and i had just spent the weekend being told that noone else in the room had sold a blade at their first show

it has now been a few days since the show.. and i am finally getting back into my blades after my much needed time away from them .. and i am falling over myself trying to figure what new technique to try out first.

the moral?
if any new makers out there happen upon this and have the chance to go to a show near them .. Go!!
dont think twice.. just get out there and have a go at it.
its worth whatever the table fees are, just for that feeling.

here is the blade that i sold at the show.
its a damascus blade with jarrah burl handle and leather lined jarrah burl sheath.. and a jarrah burl stand (get the theme?) with nickel silver fittings.
(not sure how to post pics here .. so you will just have to let me slide this time... )
http://home.iprimus.com.au/waterway/DarkWoodsForge.jpg

well thats about it.
thanks for reading this far, just thought that i would share .. and man did this post get long quickly.
take care,
Dion.
 
Dion,
Thanks for taking the time to write up your experience. I am sure there are quite a few folks who have experienced the same thoughts and emotions before their first show.

Even as a collector there are some things I identified with. An example was being in awe and reluctant to talk to some of the big names at a show when I first started attending them. - big mistake on my part since it delayed to making of some friendships. :)
 
Dion,
What a wondeful and thoughtful post. Thank you for telling of this experience. What you and your wife went thru, and the anticipation is something we all have experienced in our own fields of expertise. That very first AWESOME work related experience!!!!! Be it selling that First show knife, rescuing your very first fire victim, making your very first computer sale, etc.
I am very new to the world of knives and in some respects am very very intimidated by Custom knife makers and Custom knife folks in general. It was so refreshing to see that even a master in MY eyes goes thru those "pangs" of nervous excitement when they "pop their cherry" (A GREAT TERM in my field)
Now, keep grinding and keep smiling, but watch the wife. As you reach the major league just watch how "unbearable" her spending habits become!!!!!!
Thank you;) ;) :D ;)
 
Thanks guys... it was a great experience.

its a pity that there arent any more shows around here ..
the next show is across the country ... but i am actually thinking of going to that too ..
=)

actually .. i forgot to put in my first run in with a collector in my first post ..
i couldnt believe it.

a gentleman came up to me and told me that he had flown out to perth especially for the show and he was a serious collector that comes out every year to buy up blades and then sell them off later on as an investment.
which ... is fine.
but then he told me that i should stop working with high carbon steels and that i should be working in stainless ... the reason he said was because if you are a collector and you handle a blade and then put it back into your collection for a long while ... when you come back to it .. it will be all rusted over.

i was kind of shocked... i thought that a collector wouldnt touch the blade .. or at least put a little oil on the blade and look after their investment.

he then went on to tell me that my guards are too large .. that they are unpleasing to the eye ... (?!?!?)

oh well.
do other makers get this?
where they are told to work only in stainless?
i had thought that collectors out there would be the ones who look after their blades the best ... any collectors out there that want to comment??

D.
 
Dion,this is like deja vu to me, your first show,your first show sale.Yes we all went thru that,isn't it great.Each show will give you more confidence and they will get to be more fun as well.Congrats, and keep up the good work.Dave :)
 
That's a beautiful knife!!! :)

I can understand your feelings completely. My first knife show was last year at the Oregon knife collectors show, one of the biggest in the world...so I was in a room with some of the best makers out there. I can totally empathize with your feelings. Talk about being intimidated...but there were guys like Ed Caffrey that kept coming by my table to visit and see how things were going...that definitely helped calm my nerves to speak with a maker of his status.

I'm glad you talked to the makers. I just look at it as an opportunity to learn when I'm with other makers. Don't let anyone intimidate you, after all, they're all just men (and sometimes women) that make knives...if you ever do happen to find one that's not super-friendly and easy to talk to, don't worry about him as he will be the rarity and not the norm.

Even the most veteran maker may have something that he can learn from you...don't forget that either.

Going to shows has been the best thing for my quality, as it has pushed me with a great force to improve...so keep going if you can find them.

As far as the collector... I wouldn't think much of a collector that tries to tell you how to make knives. If he's ordering one and specifies certain things, or makes suggestions that's one thing. But to tell you to only use stainless is very odd, that's trying to influence your style. Many of the high end makers I know are using high carbon and damascus. I think there will always be a market for both high carbon and stainless, which is why I intend to use both. Plus I think it's odd how he told you what a great collector he is...it's sort of like the guy that tells you how tough he is, if he was really all that tough he would have just proved it, he wouldn't have told you first...but who knows! :)

Thanks for a great story and a great knife! :)
Nick
 
Nick~ thanks... i was quite pleased with the blade myself.

it was balanced SO nicely .. when you held it properly it felt as light as a feather .. and the wood was super smooth and was top quality too ..
so i was most pleased with it ... hence the price that i put onto the blade.

i basically ignored the collector .. i mean .. a dagger that he told me had too big of a guard on it was the piece that most people picked up and pondered on purchasing ..
3 guys came back and just held it on 5 seperate occasions .. it was quite funny.
i thought it was odd when someone comes over and says to you that they are a collector and that they are in the habit of buying big ...
i dont know about others .. but i take it as a way to intimidate and influence the maker into giving a better price than labelled in order to keep this big time collector happy ..

im just glad that he didnt get any of my blades.
which is probably the wrong way to look at things in this business ... but i really do prefer when my blades go to good homes :D

and Dave~ .. i am seriously considering going across to melbourne and doing the show thats there .. but i am a little concerned because i would have to leave my wife here and go alone for a weekend ..
but ... who knows ...
the way things are going i sure could use a few more of those sales.

time will tell.

D.
 
Hey Dion

I'd love it if you came to a show in melbourne, because then i could come check out your knives. They look pretty good from the pictures you posted.

Which show are you thinking of coming to?

James
 
James~

hey.. i was starting to think that i was the only one from oz around here
;D

the show that i was thinking of attending is
May 25 & 26, 2002
Australian Knifemakers Guild Show
Hotel Ibis, Melbourne, Victoria

i will be joining the guild as a probabtionary member in jan. (when the memberships are taken) .. so it would be a good chance for me to see the other members and say hello.

though i am still wondering .. due to cost of plane tickets .. and of course the cost of the stay in the hotel.

but if the people i think are great makers turn up there .. i am sure that it will be well worth the cost of entry to come have a look.

but.. hope to see you there.

D.
 
Dion, there's always one know it all, that is going to tell you whats wrong with your knives. i think is a kind of jelousness. that the are afraid to try they hand at it. just let it go like water off a rhino's back:D i have learned from the movie FIELD OF DREAMS. if i make them! they will sell! :cool: i have lots to be thankful for on our yank holiday.
 
:D
thanks for the kind words Rhino.

i dont mind .. i mean, i know that my blades are somewhat different.
but i enjoy them.

i dont mind if my blades are enjoyed by all ... but i was happy enough to see that the groups that i am trying to target were interested in my blades and stopped to talk to me.

if people pass up my blades .. doesnt matter.
:)

just as long as in the end of things i can make a living from this.
and it is early days yet.
i know this path will be never ending .. so to have only walked a few steps .. i think i am in a good spot.

ack...im rambling again.

D.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top